Lego Star Wars Toys: Which are the most valuable?

Lego Star Wars toys are great fun for children, but just as many adult collectors enjoy the thrill of obtaining the best sets and figures available! As well as the fun factor, the future value is fast becoming an important factor in deciding which sets to buy and invest in.

Which sets and mini-figures are likely to increase most in value over time?

Value is likely to come from the following main areas:

1) Complete, unopened boxed sets - preferably with a mint box

For a child, buying a much anticipated Lego Star Wars set and never opening it would completely defeat the object of buying the toy in the first place. But for a collector or a trader, keeping a set unopened and in mint condition will greatly increase the chance of it going up in value after the set is no longer in production. Most sets are only produced for around two years, and it usually doesn't take long before they start increasing in value. This is not always the case with all Lego sets, but the Star Wars theme usually helps the value increase significantly.

2) The most desirable sets, either boxed or opened, are likely to be valuable

Some Lego Star Wars sets are a lot more desirable than others. The most desirable sets usually disappear from the shelves quite fast. Sets with a higher number of mini-figures than usual are likely to be very popular. Lego have so far released several versions of the Millenium Falcon, Han Solo's iconic spacecraft. These fantastic kits never gather too must dust on shop shelves and are always likely to increase in value the moment they are retired from Lego's catalogue. Lego's Ultimate Collector Series of models have been massively popular and always command large sums of money on the secondary market. Inevitabley they are a lot more expensive to begin with!

3) The rarest mini-figures, usually figures which were only included in one set

Some Lego mini-figures come in many sets. For instance, stormtroopers and clonetroopers have been included with dozens of sets, although sometimes with slight variations. Some mini-figures, however, are exclusive to one set. One such example is Jango Fett, exclusive to the Slave I set released in 2003. Jango is now an extremely rare mini-figure and a mint example could fetch £30 - £40. As another example, the Boba Fett mini-figure included in the Cloud City Playset is highly sought after, even though Boba has been included in several other sets, the Cloud City version is a more detailed variation with printed legs. This version would easily fetch at least ten times the amount of a regular Boba mini-figure.

Whether you are buying your Star Wars Lego for fun or for profit - enjoy it!